Roofing materials have been used for centuries to adequately seal a roof structure to prevent the encroachment of water and other elements. These materials have developed over time from straw, thatch and mud type roofs to shingles and roofing felt, along with metal roofs and composite materials such as tile. These materials are all designed to provide a cost effective method of sealing a roofing structure from the elements to prevent inherent damage to the building structure and provide a dry, comfortable living or working environment for the occupants of the structure.
One type of roof commonly used is comprised of roofing material with embedded adhesive material therein. As the roofing material is rolled into place a plurality of propane-fueled flames are employed to heat the embedded adhesive. This type of operation has proven potentially dangerous to the laborers and underlying structure.
Another type of roof commonly used in the commercial roofing industry is a composite roof which utilizes a felt or composite roofing material applied over the roof's structural surface and secured with an unheated viscous adhesive material such as roofing mastic. The roofing mastic serves to adhere the felt roofing material to the top of the roof structure. Once the felt or other impermeable material is in place, mineral granules or gravel or other similar materials are often applied on top of the completed roofing membrane for protection from the ultraviolet rays of the sun, hail, snow and other environmental conditions.
One significant problem which exists during commercial roofing operations is the application of the adhesive mastic material to a roofing surface, which requires significant volumes of mastic material to be applied to the roofing surface. To accommodate transporting the adhesive mastic material from the ground level to the roofing surface, large cranes and/or self contained truck pumping units are required which are expensive and require a significant capital investment and trained manpower to operate. These self contained units typically weigh thousands of pounds and hold hundreds of gallons of mastic material in one or more compartments. Further, the pumping equipment necessary to pump high volumes of extremely viscous mastic material from a street level to a roofing surface is significant, and the horse power required and fuel associated therein is not cost effective for smaller roofing surfaces. One such apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,347 to Morris, which discloses a roof mastic applicator which is used in connection with a large reservoir positioned on the ground level and interconnected to a larger pump and associated truck to transport the mastic material to a roofing surface.
Accordingly, a significant need exists for a portable mastic application apparatus which may be operated by one laborer and which can be used in conjunction with smaller mastic containers such as five gallon containers which can be transported quickly and easily without the necessity of heavy pumping equipment and trucks. There is an additional need for a system and method for applying the adhesive mastic material to a roofing surface while simultaneously applying the bulk felt roofing material on top of the mastic material at the same time, thus saving significant time and expense. Finally, there is an additional need for an apparatus which can simultaneously apply the roofing mastic material and/or a bulk granular material such as mineral granules, at the same time. Accordingly, an apparatus and associated method which are designed to address these problems are provided herein as set forth below.